Vice president makes brief stop on Island

Wampanoag leader greeted VP at Logan Airport.

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Updated 8/7

Vice President Kamala Harris arrived on Martha’s Vineyard at about 3:30 pm aboard Air Force 2 at Martha’s Vineyard Airport, according to a pool report. Harris arrived on the Island from an appearance in Boston where she spoke about reproductive rights.

When she arrived in Boston, Cheryl Andrews-Maltais, chair of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) was among the dignitaries there to greet Harris. Andrews-Maltais was also on hand for the roundtable discussion on reproductive rights.

“It was such a tremendous honor to be invited to welcome Vice President Harris to Massachusetts, and participate in her roundtable on Women’s Reproductive Rights,” Andrews-Maltais told The Times. “She is so warm and engaging. At the roundtable, you could see how knowledgeable she is on the subject, and how committed she is to protecting women’s right to the freedom of choice.”

According to Andrews-Maltais, Harris spoke about the high instances of maternity fatalities in minority communities and specifically noted the increased rates among Native women.

“She commended Governor Baker for his immediate action to issue an executive order to protect women’s rights and the Massachusetts legislature for codifying those rights of women and medical providers into law,” Andrews-Maltais said. “She stated that Massachusetts is a role model, leading the way for the rest of the country.”

The forum included lawmakers, advocates and other government officials in Massachusetts who have worked to protect women’s reproductive rights, Andrews-Maltais said.

“She as well as President Biden have an open invitation to come visit our Homelands here on Noepe,” she said. “It was an honor and experience I will always remember.”

Harris spent four hours on the Island Thursday attending two separate fundraisers for the Democratic National Committee before she headed back at the airport to take off and return to Washington, D.C. 

Harris got off the plane at about 3:40 pm, gave a quick wave to the media pool, and then headed for her first of two events scheduled for her on the Vineyard. At the airport, a dozen people attempted to snap photos of Harris as she climbed into a waiting SUV.

While on the Island, Harris appeared at a Democratic National Committee event in Oak Bluffs at a private residence. She arrived at that event, at a home located near Farm Neck golf course just after 4 pm, according to the pool report. Along the way, the entourage received waves from bystanders. There was no press allowed into that event.

A little after 5 pm, Harris left the O.B. event and headed for another DNC fundraiser at a private residence in West Tisbury near the Vineyard Haven line at the home of Robert Epstein in an area known as Makonikey. (The vice president’s official schedule incorrectly stated that the party was in Vineyard Haven.)

Outside the house, Harris stood on a raised deck and a few dozen guests stood in the yard with glasses of wine, according to the pool report.
“We need to elect two more senators, we need to hold the Senate and get two more, because Joe said he will not let the filibuster stand in the way of” abortion rights and voting rights, she said, according to the pool report. Her remarks were met with applause. “The work that you all are doing to support this effort matters in a tremendous way, in particular when we are looking at the stakes being so high.”

Harris spoke about meeting Gov. Charlie Baker earlier and about the law he recently signed codifying women’s reproductive rights in Massachusetts. She said Baker “has been signing some really outstanding legislation and making clear … some issues are fundamental,” according to the pool report. “The Supreme Court took a constitutional right that had been recognized from the people of America and the women of America and it will and already is having a profound impact” on Individuals and the founding principles of freedom and liberty.

After other comments about the filibuster and the upcoming elections, Harris said, “Elections matter, because you all came out in 2020 we were able to do all this work.”

Though she has family on the Vineyard, Harris didn’t stay long. She had planned to visit the Island in May for a more casual stay, but canceled it after the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

The Island has been buzzing with political visitors — no surprise given the upcoming midterm elections. U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Maryland, made an appearance at a fundraiser last week on the Island.

Raskin is also being honored at a private gathering on Friday in Chilmark.

On Wednesday, a large plane landed at Martha’s Vineyard Airport kicking off speculation about who might be arriving on Island. Meanwhile, there have been several reports of police-escorted SUVs that are typical of high-profile political visits.

Thursday, Aug. 4, is also former president and seasonal resident Barack Obama’s birthday. Unlike last year there is no talk about a big bash at his Edgartown home.

Reporter Eunki Seonwoo contributed to this report.

59 COMMENTS

  1. Kamala deserves to be in GITMO for the rest of her life, along with braindead PedOTUS, Joe Biden.

    • Despite the accepted doctrine of free speech, I think this was entirely inappropriate for you to write and I am surprised the MV Times allowed it to show up. There are no facts to back up whatever ideas you have for saying such things. There is a difference between free speech and slander.

      • Free speech is free speech. If you condition it you necessarily make subjective opinions on it and you can ban anything. Reasonable people know Kamala is totally disqualified to be VP or President.

        • Are these the same reasonable people who know you have proven yourself in the MV comment section to be thoroughly unreasonable? Asking for a friend. I don’t care to comment one way or another on VP Harris. I do care to comment that implying anyone who thinks VP Harris is qualified is unreasonable is…well, unreasonable (at best).

          • John. You’re talking to someone who voted for Trump, the most unqualified and corrupt President in our nation’s history. Engelman wrote in these pages that Trump was chosen by his god. Some people are in no position to judge qualifications or any one’s reasonableness.

        • Andy– you are correct about free speech in this country. I have more than once reminded people that we are free to be a racist or a homophobe. The aclu was correct that the Nazi’s had the right to march through Skokie Il. in 1978.
          But we don’t have the right to capture black people , release them in a wooded area and then hunt them down and murder them for sport. Nor do we have the right to tie a young man to a fence and let him die from exposure and the beating he took because he was gay. Those crimes did not take place in a vacuum, and were stoked by ignorance and lies.
          Similarly, Katherine’s comment could be seen as inciting violence against a public official. Some people are ignorant enough to agree with her baseless comment and decide to take the law into their own hands. Our last V.P was nearly lynched for actually honoring the oath he took to defend the constitution, after all.
          Words have power. Katherine is abusing that power.

        • I don’t like Biden or Harris but explain exactly why she isn’t qualified to be VP. She is over the minimum age and a citizen therefore qualified. You seem unable to view anything without your partisan lens.

        • andy– since Kamala Harris was elected by the majority of the voting public in accordance with the rules established by the constitution, and met the requirements as stipulated by the constitution, she is tautologically qualified to be V.P. , or for that matter, president.
          Let me also remind you that you proposed a wager to me that Biben would not complete his term. We could not agree on the terms of that wager and therefore you will be spared the future shame of not honoring another lost wager.
          But if Biden does not complete his term, Harris is fully qualified to be the president of the United States.
          Any questions ?

          • Andy– I have been looking through my comments for a few days, and could not find a comment from me saying trump was not qualified–
            Could you find it for us ?
            I am pretty sure I did say he was unfit–
            You may be fluent in English, but you apparently don’t know the nuances that native English speakers do. Unqualified is different than unfit.
            Any more questions , comrad ?

    • Free speech is free speech – but slander is slander. Baselessly claiming the President is a pedo is slander, Katherine. You should know better.

  2. I am saddened that the MV Times would allow Katherine Thomson’s mean-spirited and idiotic comment to appear in our paper. Free speech is one thing, but decorum is another.

    • Ignorant conspiracy theorists never explain themselves because they incapable of rational thought. Haven’t we learned that yet?

  3. I knew this article would bring out some ignorant comments. Specifically, the first comment and the reply to same.
    So predictable.

  4. Personally, I would much rather her have flown to our “Southern Border” to see all the terrible `Illegal Chaos and Death` going on down there and wildly spreading throughout our country because o that rather then come here to briefly hang out with a bunch of totaly rich friendlies, take some pictures and have not one but two quick parties collecting $$$$$$$.

    Well, November will be here soon and Tuesday, November 5, 2024 is also around the corner.

    {NOTE; FYI, I am registered as unenrolled and as far as Trump is concerned I believe that seriusly, he is way to dangerous to become president again.
    About any comment about you know who => “fuhgeddaboudit”!}

      • Aron…Seriously? I watch all news channels and I can see with my own eyes right on CNN that the southern border is a disaster. And if you don’t believe CNN just ask the mayors of NYC and DC about how the disastrous conditions on the boarder are affecting their cities. Who caused the problem? Well that is debatable. Who’s responsibility to fix it? That’s Bidens. He asked for the job of POTUS warts and all and now he has to take responsibility for fixing it. And there are things he can do to help the problem immediately. Congress needs to do their part too.

        • The Southern Border ha been a disaster for decades.
          Trump did not significantly reduce the illegal immigration rate.
          He did increase the violence.

          • Hess, I’ll refer you to the comment above. The border is broken. It’s the current guys problem to fix. If he can’t, he needs to get out of the way and let someone else get the job done. It’s our job as citizens to hold our elected officials accountable regardless of party affiliation.

        • Carl– there has always been a problem at the southern border.
          The rise of authoritarian rulers combines with nationalist ideology has let to brutal suppression of the rights of many people around the world. This is particularly acute in some central American countries.
          Add drug cartels, unfettered criminal gangs, and a global economic turndown have exacerbated the problem and has led to an unprecedented number of impoverished and repressed people to make the agonizing decision to leave their country, risk their lives and seek asylum in the U.S.
          For years, we have had laws that ICE ( Immigration and customs enforcement ) is required to follow when someone shows up at the border and requests asylum.
          A recent one term president decided to ignore those laws, enacted a policy by executive order , deliberately separated children from their parents, regardless of age, with little or no tracking to facilitate the reunion of those families. Ice put unescorted children in crowded cages without so much as a toothbrush and put the onus for the problem on the Mexican government.
          And that same loser president, by executive order, took previously allocated funds from the military to build a useless ( subjective comment) wall.
          Guess what ? It didn’t solve the problem.
          it just left tens of thousands of homeless people living in squalor just inside Mexico, waiting for the U.S to find some understanding– They are good people, and some of them are bringing drugs. some of them are bringing crime.Some are rapist, I assume
          So now we have a president that respects the laws of both the U.S and the international community, and has some compassion for the fate of these huddled masses that have been in limbo for years.
          There is a backlog , and it will take a while to humanely deal with it.

        • Carl– I certainly hope that New York and D.C. will offer free bus rides to Texas for homeless people when it starts getting cold this winter.
          It would be a waste of gas to have those busses go back empty.

          • Don… those so called cages were in full usage under 44. Children were separated from parents under 44. Children are separated from parents in this country all the time when abuse or neglect is suspected. Same at the border. I agree that there are problems in other countries but that doesn’t mean that we have to take them all here. Are laws state that. We get to choose who we want in this country based on what is best for this country. Nothing wrong with that. Are you suggesting that we should just let anyone in this country for any reason? You just stated recently how our country’s population has grown to where its is becoming unsustainable in some areas. Look at the comments about how crowded MV is and how unaffordable it is. You mention the people living in squalor in Mexico is this somehow are problem now. Should they come here to and be homeless? Let’s be honest and admit the the almighty USA is not almighty. We can’t fix world poverty and we can’t change the climate. To believe other wise is naive and foolish. And as for those free bus rides back to Texas it’s not Texas’ problem to fix NYC homeless problem. It’s so hypocritical of blue states complaining about the southern immigration problem now as it end up in their jurisdiction. For years they embraced illegal immigration until they had to pay for it.

            Engelman will be happy we are now back at each other’s throats. Lol.

          • And apologies for some typo’s and grammar error’s. I have a terrible habit of posting then proofing. The “are” instead of “our” has probably changed me. That was horrific and unforgivable. The to instead of too I’ll never fix.

          • Carl-The policy of the Obama administration was to separate children from their parents only when it was apparent that the parent was being abusive or was not capable of caring for the child. — As you say , it happens all the time.
            The trump regime however made it an official policy to separate children from their parents without due process in an attempt to “deter” people from legally seeking asylum in the U.S
            Here is a factual timeline of events–
            https://www.splcenter.org/news/2022/03/23/family-separation-timeline
            To compare the policies of the 2 administrations is ridiculous-
            Thousands of young children, including infants, were taken from their parents and “trafficked” by federal officials to various areas around the country without a system in place to reunite the families when their cases were eventually heard.
            Many parents have not been able to locate their children to this day. The world had not seen such a horrific official policy since the Nazi’s separated families when they arrived at concentration camps. I am also reminded of the attempt by the British to eradicate the aboriginal peoples of Australia from 1910 through 1970 by forcibly taking roughly 100,000 children under the age of 5 from their parents.

            Sorry Carl, it was flat out wrong, you know it, I know it, and even andy knows it.
            But that’s history… And history has consequences–
            One of those consequences is that the current administration, which has a sense of what a family is, is slogging through the detritus left by the wanton policies of the last one.

            Nothin’ personal Carl… them’s Just the facts..

  5. Did they pick up a motorcycle? No? Bet this stop wasn’t cheap. Hope the hosts paid for it.

    • Talk about a humongous, gigantic, totally useless carbon foot print and on our / my $$$$ and some island folks are cheering these actions!!..??

  6. Ok, George– I will try to be nicer this time, but it’s hard to be polite when responding to such an ignorant comment as Katherine’s.
    Some here have asked Katherine what Kamala has done to deserve such a fate ?
    You won’t get an answer because Katherine’s comment has no validity, no basis in fact, and no connection to the truth, and could possibly even be racially motivated.
    She is just venting her ignorant, partisan hate.
    In that one comment she has shown us how ugly and irrational the political discourse coming from the right is, and has stripped it naked for all decent people to see.

  7. To deal with the border issues, I’d suggest we build a wall and have Mexico pay for it, but that’s already been done by a fairy tale god’s Chosen One, the corrupt traitor who tried to steal a free and fair election. Sure, let’s talk about who is or isn’t qualified to be President. People who voted for and stood by the worst President (who incited a coup!) in our nation’s history don’t get to determine whose view is reasonable and expect anyone to respect that opinion!

      • Informed, intelligent people know that Trump lied about the election being stolen from him. Don’t know how anyone could miss what’s been disclosed all along, and more recently in the hearings where his own staff has disclosed his criminal, traitorous insistence on lies about the election and how he tried to steal it. If you are unable to pay attention to facts, that’s on you. Biden is doing a great job– climate, medication costs, action on covid, etc. Some people are stuck in lies and refuse to be educated. Can’t help you if don’t want to help yourself.
        By the way, if you continue to infer that Trump in any way won the 2020 election, you can get yourself banned from Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. i feel sorry for people who fell for a con and now can’t let it go. Sad.

      • You can’t even quote (copy) intelligently, Ack. I use an apostrophe to make a noun possessive. Your thinking is as poor as your grammar.

  8. The proof is in the pudding, things are going great with this administration. You can not fix a mistake unless you admit you made a mistake. See you at the gas station and grocery store. Love you all.

    • “Robert”– nice to see you back.
      Aren’t you impressed that sleepy Joe,– you know that guy who can’t tie his shoelaces— In just over one year, managed to do what no president has ever been able to do ?
      He has wrestled control over the worlds most valuable commodity– Namely he has managed
      to gain control over the price of oil.
      Of course in the beginning of his gambit ( in February) there were some sovereign countries that export billions of dollars worth of this stuff everyday and saw through his ruse and didn’t like it. But Joe, through a great feat of treachery , made all those world leaders , as well as commodity brokers, actually believe that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had something to do with it. — You see , he timed it perfectly…
      So this is why I voted for the guy– He may come off as a bumbling idiot, but he is doing one heck of a job, and hopefully he will be able to trick the magaverse into thinking that something unusual is happening with the climate.
      Wait until the Maganuts find out that Hunter Biden is working with George Soros and is not only using his lasers in space to start fires but is using his giant firehose that he has recently secretly put into orbit using an Elon Musky thingie ( they secretly launched it at night so no one would see it) to cause catastrophic “thousand year floods” every few months. They will be so impressed with his lies, deceit, and his ability to steal billions of dollars, they will want to vote for him.
      It does seem after all,that the more you lie, the more you steal, the more you con the general public,or come up with crazy “theories” and the more you babble incoherently and blame others, the more likely you are to get a “conservative” voter on your side.

      I’m all in for the price of gas hitting $20 by the way…
      And that’s not sarcasm.

      • I’m all for gas hitting 20 a gallon as well as long as rice and beans are 45 dollars and rent is 500 per foot. That’s not sarcasm either. We are all in this together so we suffer together.

  9. Why would you bother to update this story without removing the completely inappropriate primary comment. Katherine Thomson’s disgusting remark should have never gotten past your censors in the first place. Have you no decency, MV Times?

  10. So, our current Vice President belongs in prison for life for unspecified charges. Mr. Albert agrees without spellcheck, Engelman- a man with demonstrably no honor- cries “free speech” again.
    All because of a 4 hour fundraising visit.
    Anyone notice the bit of legislation that was passed today? Isn’t that what should rightfully set the hater’s hair on fire?

    • Mr Graves, it is interesting that you call me a man of no honor. May I remind you of Church and Dwight in 1988?

  11. Free speech? In the times? Wish you could have read my comments but they were censored. I said I love you all and the proof is in the pudding. Dangerous comments this newspaper decided was not hateful enough I GUESS.

  12. Print all comments! Put a disclaimer on the ones the times think we are to stupid to understand. All comments 25 words or less. 1 (one) comment per person per story. Print them all! Give us ALL a voice.

    • Robert. I agree! Censorship is the downfall of freedom. Any comments that are threatening, contain profanity or egregious hate just for the sake of it should not be allowed. But everyone’s opinion; whether popular or not; should be allowed.

      • There is no censorship here, but there is moderating done. Your last comment that didn’t make it was because you called another commenter a name. Follow the rules and your comments will get posted.

  13. Keller you never quite do enough research before you reach conclusions and particularly on your Australian Aborigine ”facts”. Child endangerment, rape and incest and pedophilia was rampant in those communities for many years and continued even now. I lived in Australia from 1949 to 58 and I know something about this subject. You need to dig deeper. Did white Australia take some kids away because they would do better under white parents they thought? Yes , many were, but most were taken due to terrible conditions unimaginable. I went off subject because you went off.

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